New ‘Gov.uk’ phishing scam tells people they’ve been offered a job in Johnson’s Cabinet

Experts say the average person may be able to identify it is a scam… but not everyone 

A new phishing scam has been doing the rounds via text message telling people they have been offered a job in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, according to The Evening Chronicle.

The outgoing prime minister was forced to appoint a new team of Ministers following a flurry of resignations in the wake of the Chris Pincher scandal.

At one point, there had been three Education Secretaries in three days as MPs came and went, and some of the new recruits were openly criticising their boss as soon as they landed the position.

The situation has become so farcical that ordinary members of the public are even being offered Cabinet jobs in a new phishing scam which, according to experts, has even lured a few people in.

A text sent out from a ‘Gov.uk’ number reads:

“CONGRATULATIONS! You are now part of the UK Prime Minister’s cabinet. Please respond with your location and a car will collect you momentarily. Reply ‘STOP’ if you wish to decline.”

According to Evening Chronicle reports, while the average person may be able to identify this is a scam in some cases it tricks users by inviting them to reply to it even if they aren’t interested.

By replying, users could be giving hackers access to personal information like email addresses, phone contacts, locations or even credit/debit card information.

Les Roberts, content manager at Bionic, said recently the company has seen a lot of scammers jumping on the back of recent news such as the furore within Westminster.

He says: “If you think a scam seems suspicious, go to the official body and reply directly.”

In this case, that’s probably Number 10.